Oil,  1 


Bulletin  Boards  and  Special  Lists* 

I  have  been  asked  to  say  a  few  words 
about  the  use  and  value  of  bulletin 
boards  in  a  library,  and  also  how  far  one 
may  go  with  advantage  in  the  prepara¬ 
tion  of  lists  of  books  on  special  topics. 
Both  subjects  come  very  properly  under 
the  head  of  the  indoor  advertising  of  a 
library;  and  in  these  days  a  librarian, 
to  be  successful,  must  treat  his  library 
as  he  would  direct  a  mercantile  enter¬ 
prise.  It  will  not  do  to  sit  behind  a 
desk,  waiting  for  people  to  suggest  im¬ 
provements  and  ask  for  new  books;  it 
is  not  enough  to  make  a  reform  after 
the  visitor  to  another  town  returns  with 
accounts  of  the  management  of  another 
library.  If  the  library  is  to  be  sup* 
ported  by  taxation  the  taxpayers  have 
a  right  to  expect  an  experienced,  ener¬ 
getic  librarian  at  its  head. 

Periodicals  which  attemot  to  cover 

X 

the  field  of  current  literature  seek  means 
to  attract  and  interest  readers^  They 
give  quotations  from  each  new  book — 
a  well-told  story,  an  amusing  anecdote, 
a  vivid  bit  of  description,  with  a  few 


*  Read  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  June  26,  1899. 


lines  of  personal  comment,  biographical 
details,  and  a  portrait.  Why  should  not 
the  librarian  attract  th.e  citizen  by  the 
same  devices?  A  bulletin  board,  clev¬ 
erly  arranged,  requires  experience  and 
judgment  not  unlike  that  shown  by  the 
editor  of  a  paper,  or  the  decorator  of  a 
show  window.  To  some  librarians  this 
task  no  doubt  proves  irksome,  or  it  may 
be  that  it  runs  counter  to  ideas  of  good 
taste  and  fitness  ;  but  our  object  is  to 
attract  readers,  and  some  method  must 
be  found  that  shall  be  both  effective  and 
suitable  for  a  library. 

Many  people  do  not  read  a  literary 
paper  which  lies  on  the  library  table. 
It  would  be  well,  therefore,  for  a  board 
of  trustees  to  allow  the  librarian  to 
spend,  we  will  say,  15  cents  a  week  for 
periodicals  to  be  cut  up.  This  would 
mean  for  the  active  months  of  the  win¬ 
ter  about  $5,  a  sum  which  could  be  ob¬ 
tained  from  some  loyal  friend  of  the 
library  if  the  trustees  hesitate  to  spend 
public  money  for  such  a  purpose.  With 
this  sum  invested  in  the  Bookman,  the 
Critic,  an  occasional  number  of  the 
Academy,  Harper’s  weekly,  the  Illus¬ 
trated  London  news,  or  one  of  the  10- 
cent  monthlies,  gratifying  results  should 
be  obtained.  The  great  man  of  our  time, 
as  he  passes  away,  will  appear  on  the 


bulletin  board,  depicted  far  more  truly 
than  is  possible  in  the  rapidly  printed 
newspaper.  Again  he  will  be  called  to 
mind  on  the  anniversary  of  his  birth  or 
death,  or  with  other  men  who  together 
have  shaped  great  public  policies,  or 
have  quickened  the  thought  and  up¬ 
raised  the  standards  of  their  century. 

A  new  work  by  a  well-known  literary 
man  will  awaken  interest  in  pictures  of 
his  home,  his  family,  his  handwriting, 
and  in  the  caricatures  which  appear  in 
the  comic  papers. 

If  the  librarian  is  the  eye  for  the  com¬ 
munity  he  will  be  able  to  show  pictures 
of  the  latest  invention,  the  newest  mar¬ 
vel  of  mechanism,  long  before  it  be¬ 
comes  household  property.  I  would 
not  have  the  town  library  a  curiosity 
shop,  but  a  place  where  thought  is 
stimulated;  it  should  direct  him  who 
would  read  and  furnish  better  subjects  of 
conversation  for  him  who  will  not  study. 

Do  not  put  all  your  good  material  up 
at  once.  Change  it  little  by  little,  that 
the  frequent  reader  will  always  find 
something  new,  and  the  occasional  vis¬ 
itor  will  not  miss  too  much.  In  the 
choice  of  subjects  do  not  be  too  pedantic 
or  too  scholarly.  Public  libraries  are 
maintained  not  solely  to  make  the 
learned  more  erudite;  they  have  a  mis- 

3 


sion  to  the  rank  and  file — a  mission  to 
rest,  cheer,  and  amuse.  The  face  of 
Mr  Sothern  or  Maude  Adams  might  be 
out  of  place  on  the  bulletin  board  51 
weeks  in  the  year;  but  if  in  the  fifty- 
second  week  one  of  them  puts  upon  the 
stage  a  play  based  upon  a  famous  novel, 
the  face  of  D’ Artagnan  or  Babbie  might 
delight  many  people.  To  judge  of  the 
fitness  of  an  action  is  the  part  of  a  good 
librarian,  and  no  one  can  be  another’s 
guide.  A  librarian  who  will  not  venture 
to  try  some  novel  methods  for  fear  of 
comment  will  court  a  greater  comment, 
that  which  thrives  over  a  decaying  ad¬ 
ministration.  A  startling  headline  on 
a  bulletin  board  will  in  some  commu¬ 
nities  be  effective.  I  read  of  this  head¬ 
ing  for  a  list  of  books:  Hot?  Go  to 
Alaska;  and  of  a  list  of  books  on  ani¬ 
mals,  introduced  by  a  fascinating  pro¬ 
cession  of  parti-colored  paper  wild 
beasts  upon  the  board.  A  vexed  libra¬ 
rian  might  exhibit  some  dirty  books 
under  the  label:  Want  one?  Go  wash 
your  hands!  but  this  is  a  dangerous  field. 

I  have  found  that  titles  of  timely 
articles  in  magazines,  when  posted  on 
the  bulletin  board,  one  or  two  at  a  time, 
lead  people  to  read.  Slips  two  by 
three  inches  in  size  may  each  bear  a 
title;  they  fill  vacant  spaces  and  give 


variety,  attracting  more  attention  than 
lists  of  titles  would.  Notes  about  your 
library  and  the  great  libraries,  when 
introduced  very  sparingly,  quicken  in¬ 
terest. 

A  bulletin  board  should  be  two  or 
three  feet  wide  and  double  that  amount 
in  length;  of  very  soft  pine  or  white- 
wood,  perhaps  varnished,  but  certainly 
not  painted,  so  that  ordinary  small 
tacks  may  be  pressed  in  with  ease. 
Some  prefer  a  literature  board,  a  sec¬ 
ond  board  for  current  events,  and  a 
third  for  children. 

The  bulletin  board  will  aid  in  mak¬ 
ing  the  library  generally  useful — the 
most  frequented  spot  in  town.  The 
busy  man  will  come  in  to  find  when 
the  bank  opens,  when  the  next  train 
leaves,  when  the  morning  mail  arrives, 
what  articles  are  in  the  warrant  for  the 
next  town  meeting,  when  he  must  re¬ 
turn  from  the  seashore  to  place  his 
children  in  school. 

In  that  corner  of  the  board  devoted 
to  the  schools,  boys  and  girls  should 
find  notices  posted  by  the  superintend¬ 
ent  and  by  teachers.  They  should  find 
reference  lists  for  their  lessons  and 
topics  for  prize  essays.  A  bright  stu¬ 
dent  would  enjoy  managing  such  a  de¬ 
partment  for  an  acknowledgment  in 

5 


the  annual  report.  One  person  would 
be  well  and  fully  occupied  in  a  library 
of  fair  size  with  the  care  of  the  infor¬ 
mation  desk  and  the  bulletin  boards. 

Any  special  list  of  references  on  a 
subject  of  passing  interest  will,  if  not 
too  long,  add  to  the  interest  of  a  bulle¬ 
tin  board.  How  much  a  library  should 
spend  for  printing  such  lists  depends,  I 
think,  upon  a  library’s  income.  Cer¬ 
tain  lists  should  be  in  every  public  li¬ 
brary,  and  there  should  be  an  unlimited 
supply  from  year  to  year;  a  reference- 
list  for  each  holiday,  for  the  greater 
statesmen,  soldiers,  sailors,  and  poets. 
These  lists  should  be  short  and  simple. 
Too  long  a  bibliography  is  as  confus¬ 
ing  to  the  untrained  public  as  a  subject 
of  which  there  is  no  bibliography.  This 
is  an  age  of  cataloging  and  annotation 
rather  than  of  creation  among  edu¬ 
cated  men,  and  a  librarian  must  be  cau¬ 
tious  in  his  use  of  lists. 

Many  excellent  lists  on  current  topics 
appear  from  time  to  time  in  library 
bulletins,  and  an  institution  with  limited 
means  need  spend  little  or  no  money 
in  making  new  ones.  Use  what  is  at 
hand  by  cutting  away  or  adding  titles 
to  make  the  lists  meet  your  conditions. 
If  you  have  the  inclination  keep  all 
lists,  whether  publisher’s  circulars  or 

6 


advertisements,  or  library  bulletins  or 
secondhand  catalogs,  and  arrange  them 
by  subjects  in  an  alphabet  for  ready 
reference. 

If  you  issue  a  bulletin,  or  if  you  have 
library  notes  in  a  local  newspaper,  an 
announcement  that  you  have  a  list  of 
articles  and  books  on  the  Dreyfus  case, 
or  on  international  arbitration,  will  an¬ 
swer  every  purpose  that  would  be  pro¬ 
moted  by  incurring  the  expense  of 
printing  the  lists.  A  book  like  Briefs 
for  debate,  is  made  up  largely  of  spe¬ 
cial  lists.  Poole’s  index  and  the  Cu¬ 
mulative  index  are  invaluable  for  spe¬ 
cial  lists  on  public  questions,  before 
literature  on  these  subjects  appears  in 
book  form. 

But  to  the  library  with  ample  funds 
the  printing  press  is  a  wise  adjunct. 
Special  lists,  uniform  in  style,  special 
subjects  reprinted  from  the  catalog 
cards,  lists  of  accessories,  lists  of  pic¬ 
tures  and  of  music  scores — all  these 
help  students,  and,  to  some  extent,  the 
public.  I  have  said,  make  them  short. 
Study  arrangement  and  spacing — two 
qualities  as  necessary  in  printing  as  in 
painting.  Use  not  over  two  or  three 
kinds  of  type;  let  it  be  old  face,  and 
carefully  avoid  fantastic  styles.  Some 
country  printing  offices  are  stocked 

7 


just  now  with  type  which  city  offices 
have  found  that  city  people  will  not 
tolerate,  type  with  a  curl  at  each  end, 
capitals  that  conceal  the  fundamental 
letter-form.  Do  not  subdivide  the  ma¬ 
terial  too  much,  but  give  the  alphabet 
a  share  of  service.  Readers  want  only 
obvious  classes,  and  care  little  for  the 
librarian’s  theory  of  the  classification 
of  knowledge.  An  able  librarian  is 
too  apt  to  be  intolerant  of  stupidity  or  -r 
slow  mental  action.  He  must  when  on 
duty  stimulate  by  working  with  and 
through  people,  not  above  them.  Let 
him  satisfy  his  own  ideals  out  of  hours 
by  association  with  great  books  and  su¬ 
perior  minds. 

Bulletin  boards  and  special  lists  ad¬ 
vertise  a  library  and  so  widen  its  influ¬ 
ence.  But  let  me  say  in  closing,  al¬ 
though  it  may  be  carrying  coals  to 
Newcastle  to  say  it  before  a  library 
club,  that  nothing  so  well  advertises  a 
library  as  a  capable  librarian. 

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